Anne de Brouwer

Anne (Berendsen) de Brouwer passed away peacefully at age 89, on Wednesday January 21, 2026.  Anne was one of 8 children of the late Johannes and Johanna (Veldman) Berendsen.

For 61 years Anne was a loving wife to Pete de Brouwer, the fun-loving young man she first kissed on a snowy New Year’s Eve in 1953, just a few weeks before she and her family emigrated to Canada.

She was a nurturing, patient and generous mother who was ridiculously proud of her four children: Ben (Patricia), Marianne (Brant), Allen (2021) (Marja) (Tim) and Melissa (Stephen).

As Oma, Anne was supportive and happily cheered her grandchildren on in any and all pursuits. She will be forever remembered by her grandchildren Cayley, Athena (Curtis), Weston (2004), Charlotte (David), Raina (Jason), Evan, Sawyer (Natasha), Sam (Madison), Andrew (Erika), James (Sally) and great grandchildren Claire, Nathan, Kylie, Daele, Arbor, William, Nole and Lilla.

Anne will be dearly missed by her surviving sisters Wilma and Trudy, and her brother, John; as well as many in-laws, nieces, nephews, friends and neighbours.

Anne emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada with her parents, four sisters and three brothers, in February 1953.  She arrived as a 16-year-old teen, and was immediately placed as a live-in maid and nanny for a family in St. Thomas. Needless to say, it was a challenging transition for a girl who spoke no English, and was separated from her family. When I asked her how she managed those early days, weeks and months, she replied “I just learned the language one word at a time and bit by bit things improved.”

Such a positive outlook.  And basically, that is how Mom tackled things.  We never heard mom say something (anything) was too hard, or beyond her ability, or likely to fail.  If she wanted to do something, or learn something, or join something, she just did.  And she encouraged all of her children to approach life and our dreams with the same positive attitude.  She never discouraged us from trying something new.  We never heard her say “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

In 1995, Mom won two airline tickets to Holland.  She decided it was a great opportunity to participate in the ‘Vierdaagse’ (International Four Days Marches) in Nijmegen.  A serious personal challenge, the event consisted of walking 40 kilometres a day for 4 consecutive days – each day a different route extending from Nijmegen into the surrounding towns and countryside.  Mom completed the challenge and earned the coveted Four Days Marches Cross.

Mom was a woman who said “yes” easily.

To her husband, her kids, her family and friends.

Yes to parties and dances; yes to a 3 week trip across the U.S. with 11 other troublemakers in a refurbished school bus;  yes to a game of cards; yes to sewing a special prom dress; yes to a concert in the park; yes to after school rides from a steady stream of practices and games for years and years; yes to a brisk walk anywhere; and always, yes to a shopping excursion.

These are just a few of the lessons we learned from our mother, Anne.  Mom, we will carry your love and positivity forward with us and remember you always.

Visitation will be held at Blenheim Community Funeral Home on Friday January 23 from 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

A private family interment will be held at the Evergreen Cemetery, Blenheim on Saturday January 24.

Following interment, we will host Mom’s Celebration of Life and Luncheon at 12:00 noon at the Willow Ridge Golf and Country Club, 439 Chatham St. South Blenheim. Everyone is welcome.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Chatham-Kent Hospice are appreciated.https://chathamkenthospicefoundation.com/donations/